Israeli president facing rape charges

Last updated at 08:18 16 October 2006

President Moshe Katsav could face the most serious charges ever brought against an Israeli official after police recommended he be indicted for rape, aggravated sexual assault and other counts, the result of a months-long investigation of complaints by women who worked for him.

Israeli police made their recommendation yesterday in a meeting with Attorney General Meni Mazuz, who has the final word on whether Katsav will be put on trial.

Calls on Katsav to suspend himself or resign are increasing. The first test of Katsav's standing after the police report was to come today, when he was to attend the opening of the winter session of Israel's parliament. Several members said they would stay away in protest while Katsav was there.

According to the statement released after the meeting, the police also found basis for charges of fraud and malfeasance in office in the president's actions, as well as illegal wiretapping, while investigations concerning disrupting a police investigation and harassing a witness were still in progress.

While a previous president and several prime ministers have been suspected of financial misdeeds and a former defense minister was convicted of sexual harassment, the charges facing Katsav would be the most serious criminal counts brought against a serving Israeli official.

The statement said the complaints were filed by "women who worked under his (Katsav's) authority." It said there was evidence he committed crimes of "rape, aggravated sexual assault, indecent acts without permission and offenses under the law to prevent sexual harassment."

In a statement released by Katsav's office, his lawyer, Zion Amir, said the police are not authorized to bring charges, noting that in the past, when police have recommended putting senior officials on trial, the attorney general has dismissed most of the cases.

Mazuz does not have a deadline for making his decision and is expected to take several weeks to study the evidence.

Katsav has denied all wrongdoing. In a recent Israel radio interview, he charged that the complaints against him were staged by political enemies.

However, if indicted he would likely have to step aside. In Israel, the president holds a largely ceremonial role with little authority, but is considered a unifying force in a fractured society.

Katsav, 60, was born in Iran, and is the first president to come from among the Jews who immigrated from Muslim countries and who suffered discrimination at the hands of the European Jewish establishment in the first years of the state.

Israel Radio and Channel 2 TV said the case against Katsav is based on complaints by five women who allege he made unwanted sexual advances toward them during his tenure as president and before that, as a government minister. Complaints by five other women are not being pursued because the statute of limitations has run out, the reports said.

The investigation of Katsav began earlier this year after a former employee alleged he forced her to have sex under the threat of dismissal.

Police repeatedly questioned Katsav at his official residence and seized personal documents.